General Awareness about Committees in our Parliament
Committees:The work done by the Parliament in modern times is not only varied and complex in nature, it's considerable in volume and the time at its disposal is limited. A good deal of its business is transacted in Committees of the House, known as Parliamentary Committees.
Parliamentary Committee:Means a Committee which is appointed or elected by the House or nominated by the Speaker and which works under the direction of the speaker and presents its report to the House or to the Speaker which is provided by the Lok Sabha Secretariat. By their nature, Parliamentary Committees are of two kinds: Standing Committees and Ad hoc Committees.
Standing Committees:
Are permanent and regular committees which are constituted from time to time in pursuance of the provisions of an Act of Parliament or Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok sabha. The work of these Committees is of continuous nature. The Financial Committees, DRSCs and some other Committees come under the category of Standing Committees.
Ad hoc Committees:
Are appointed for a specific purpose and they cease to exist when they finish the task assigned to them and submit a report. The principal Ad hoc Committees are the Select and Joint Committees on Bills. Railway Convention Committee, Joint Committee on Food Management in Parliament House Complex etc also come under the category of Ad hoc Committees.
Selected Committees of the Lok Sabha:
- Business Advisory Committee: plans and regulates the business of the house and advises regarding location of time for discussion of various issues
- Committee on Private Members' Bills and Resolutions: Examines and classifies the bills submitted by members of the House according to their importance.
- Select Committee: Collect information on various issues and submit report on bills referred to them.
- Committee on Petition: Examines the petitions submitted to it and suggest remedial measures.
- Rules Committee: Considers matter of procedure and conduct of business in the house.
- Committee on Subordinate Legislation: Examines rules and regulations enacted by the parliament and ascertains how far these rules are within the limits prescribed in the main Law.
- Committee on Public Undertakings: Examines the working of pubic undertakings including their counts and finance.
- Committee on government Assurances: Examines how far the assurances and undertakings given by ministers on the floor of the House have been implemented with the stipulated period.
- Committee on Absence of Members: Examines leave applications or their absence and also looks into cases when members have been missing from the house without permission.
- Estimate Committee: Examines the annual estimates and suggests alternative policies to the government to ensure efficiency and economy in administration.
- Public Account Committee: Examines the report of Comptroller and Auditor General of India. It ensures that expenditure has not exceeded the grants made by the Parliament and the money has been sent for the purpose for which it was sanctioned by the Parliament. The committee plays an effective role in ensuring the regularity and Economy in expenditure.
Committees Under Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha:
Lok Sabha:
- Agriculture
- Chemicals & Fertilizers
- Coal & Steel
- Defence
- Energy
- External Affairs
- Finance
- Food, Consumer Affairs & Public Distribution
- IT
- Labour
- Petroleum & Natural Gas
- Railways
- Rural Development
- Social Justice & Empowerment
- Urban Development
- Water Resources
Rajya Sabha:
- Commerce
- Health and Family Welfare
- Home Affairs
- Human Resource Development
- Industry
- Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice
- Science and Technology, Environment and Forests
- Transport, Tourism and Culture
Independent Departments of Central Government:
- Department of Space
- Department of Atomic Energy
- Ministries of Central Government Apex/ Independent Offices
- Comptroller and Auditor General of India
- Union Public Service Commission
- Central Bureau of Investigation
- Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser
- National Commission for Scheduled Tribes
- National Commission for Backward Classes
- Central Information Commission
- Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
- Election Commission of India
- National Human Rights Commission
- National Commission for Scheduled Castes
- Planning Commission
- National Commission for Minorities
- National Commission on Population
- Central Vigilance Commission
- National Commission for Women
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